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One of the big standouts from Hawkeye was the introduction of new hero Kate Bishop in the MCU. Now, it has been revealed that Hailee Steinfeld was cast as the young archer by Marvel Studios only after one audition.
When it was first announced that Hawkeye was in development and that Kate Bishop would be starring opposite Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton, one of the big questions that arose was who would take on the role as the young hero who was first introduced in 2005's as part of the Young Avengers. While rumors were brewing back in 2019 that Steinfeld could be up for the role, reports indicated it was still unclear if she was officially set to join the series, especially with scheduling conflicts due to her starring in Apple TV Plus' Dickinson series. It wasn't until filming began in December 2020 that Steinfeld was spotted on set.
Fast Forward a year later and Steinfeld's introduction as Kate Bishop, Barton's protege, now has fans begging for more, as her energetic portrayal means she will be attached to play Bishop for many future MCU projects. In Disney Plus' Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye, the new behind-the-scenes documentary series that shows the creation process behind many beloved MCU projects, it seems that the Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and the rest of the Marvel team knew right away that Steinfeld was the one. "I think in the back of Kevin’s mind, he had Hailee as Kate," Executive Producer Trinh Tran shared in the documentary.
"We actually just said 'Let’s meet Hailee, let’s just have a conversation with her and see how that goes.' And I remember after the conversation Kevin just offered her the role right then and there. So that was pretty remarkable that we came out of that meeting shaking her hand and going, 'Okay you’re in. You’re gonna play Kate Bishop,'" Tran would further add. While not familiar with the character, Steinfeld revealed in another interview that her preparation for the Hawkeye role involved spending countless hours training with a bow and watching many videos of professional archers to familiarize herself with the weapon.
As for the series as a whole, Hawkeye was met with critical acclaim, as it continued the phase four model of being able to delve deeper into many side characters' stories that weren't explored as much in the big films. The story follows Clint Barton post-blip in New York City during the Holidays as he is forced to team up with the young archer Kate Bishop to stop enemies from his past when he was Ronin. Hawkeye also stars Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Fra Fee as Kazi, Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne, Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez / Echo, and Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez.
Hawkeye is currently streaming on Disney Plus.
Source: ScreenRant